Chaotic Neutral Rogue-Ranger

[Bystander]

I have a CN, 1/2-Elf Rogue-Ranger in a game with some of my friends. They are having a problem accepting him.

Their characters don't have a problem with him, mind you. Its out of game that they raise complaint. They don't think I am motivating him properly.

We write histories, and describe our character's motivation before and as we are playing him, and try to act accordingly. So for my character, I said that he wasn't motivated by good or evil, greed or nature. He instead, is a hardened adventurer/explorer who is primarily motivated by challenge, fun, and a little loot along the way is fine too.

I said that the reason the character is a rogue-ranger is because he values those skills above all others when it comes to surviving in the wilderness or a dungeon or what have you. He doesn't break into any houses to steal anything, and he's not some protector of nature.

That's what they have the problem with. They say if I play these classes- I HAVE to be involved in 1.protecting the forrest (no matter what allignment my Ranger is); 2.Some form of thieving. (because I am neutral- I have to do some bad things as well as good things.)

I think their theories are hogwash! I say that is but ONE way to play the character, and my way is just as valid. What do you think?

 

[hong]

How you motivate your character is up to you, and you alone. Just because you have the ranger and rogue skillsets doesn't mean you have to be like every other ranger and rogue out there. If the DM doesn't have a problem, the other players shouldn't either.

 

[EOL]

I think you should announce to the players that you've talked to the DM and he's agreed to create two entirely new core-classes for you the explorer and the party animal. The explorer has exactly the same abilities as the ranger and the party animal has exactly the same abilities as the rogue, but perhaps this will force them out of their tiny, insular worlds into an acceptance that not all rangers are protectors of the forest (Gnoll has ranger as it's favored class) and not all rogues have the be picking pockets at every opportunity.

In other words tell them to pull thier heads out.

 

[Bystander]

Do rangers have to worship & protect nature?

My DM says, that by the rules of D&D, they do.

He says that they get all of their abilities and spells from the force of nature, where as I say my character learned them as an hunter would learn his abilities.

I can see how maybe a Druid would only get his powers from nature, but...

 

[Deadguy]

DM's Game

Unfortunately it's the DM's world that you're playing in! If he says that Rangers must worship Nature, then they do! I can only suggest that you talk to him, get him to explain to you how he would expect a CN Ranger to behave; let's see if there isn't a compromise available that allows you to play the hardened explorer and represent the Nature worship that the Dm requires.

On the question of Rogue, remind people that Rogue != Thief, at least not any more in 3e! That said, if your character is built to fulfil the traditional role of a thief (silent pickpocket and housebreaker) then they might want you to justify how you acquired that skill set!

And then there's the wider question of what Chaotic Neutral represents. Moral Neutrality is not a matter of doing a balanced amount of Good and Evil! It's a question of what motivates the character. Neutral people look out for friends and family, perhapseven for their nation, and not forgetting that they're in it for themselves. They aren't prepared to condone doing anything at all to advance those goals. But they aren't too worried about bending the rules here and there, cheating a little if they can get away with it, so they do the best they can. They probably also do help out others, but only so far as they can see an advantage in doing so. Maybe the difficulty here is their own disquiet at CN characters (I have seen this!); CN has been used in the past as an excuse for a player to have his character do whatever he pleases and to hell with the rest of the party! Even CNs can be team players, provided they're given the freedom to set the methods with the team's goals! So perhaps some reassurance is worth it here.

I think there's time for a chat with the players and with the DM. A few words now might clear the air.

 

[Bastoche]

The alignement issue is a non-issue. Tell your DM how you think your character behave morally and ask him what alignement suits that way of thought. It's just a label afterall not free from debating. Play the character like you want to play it and see what moral label the DM wants to give you. If writing CG on your character sheet will convice everyone else to let you play the charatcer like you did before then OK.

As for the class thing, rogue is NOT a thief. It's a rogue. Most thieves are rogues but not most rogues are thieves !

And the ranger part is really up to the DM. What would it cost you if you just started worshipping nature. You will have to get your spells from somewhere... Ask your DM if this could be a philosophical view instead of a spiritual one.

From what I read of your character concept, if the ranger thing requires you to worship nature and that you deeply believe this goes against the character concept, switch ranger to fighter or rogue. That's what I would do...

 

[trentonjoe]

From what I read of your character concept, if the ranger thing requires you to worship nature and that you deeply believe this goes against the character concept, switch ranger to fighter or rogue. That's what I would do... [/B]

I agree 100%. If your DM says you need to be a woodsy ranger just take the level in fighter.

 

[el Voz]

A rogue ranger in my mind fits your original concept. However, the DM interperts the rules. If he says the sky is pink, than the sky is pink.

CN is one of the hardest alignments to play, because it does not mean I can do whatever/whenever I want to.

 

[Darklone]

Had a similar problem...

With a character that is multimulticlassing...

Barbarian2/Ranger2/Rogue3/Bard5/Sorcerer1...

Exactly the same problem. DM had no objections. But the other players. They heard bard and thought about a guy with paperflowers. Sorcerer: Some psionic for them. Rogue: Hey, why don't you steal? Ranger: Look at the woodsie guy. Barbarian: Big ugly stinking brute that cannot read.

Since he's the jack of all trades, master of none who always learns the skills the party does not have (that's how he collected all those levels in the first place) he's different. Wilderness adventures: He focused on bringing the party through the woods. Cities: roofrunner. Dungeoncrawles: Fighting backup and joker and magical support with utility spells.